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Saturday, October 16, 2010

Alfred Lichtenstein - American philatelist

Alfred F. Lichtenstein (6 August 1876 - 24 February 1947, both in New York City) was one of the most famous American philatelists.

Alfred Lichtenstein's classic stamp collections were one of the most complete, with a passion for stamps issued before 1870. He collected stamps issued by Canadian provinces and the Confederation of Canada, Switzerland, Cape Colony, Ceylon, Gambia, Mauritius, Argentina and Uruguay. Considering the postal history of the United States, his collection was a reference for "Western Express".

He was an active member of the Collectors Club of New York which was developed by Lichtenstein and his friend Theodore Steinway. He was also a member of the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada.

An international philatelic judge during three decades, he was the commissioner of international philatelic exhibitions of 1913, 1926 and 1936 (the last two in New York). When he died, he was preparing the Centenary International Stamp Exhibition (CIPEX) of 1947.

In March 1945 in New York City, Theodore Steinway, others philatelists and Lichtenstein founded the Philatelic Foundation. It is a non-profit educational institution whose goals are philatelic expertise, research and publications. After 1947, his daughter Louise Boyd Dale continued to support the foundation.

His stamp collections and those of his daughter were sold during auctions at Harmer's between 1968 and 1971, between 1989 and 1992, and in 1997.